BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 14,048 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,048 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $31,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This represents a 3.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,589 shares of company stock worth $7,113,953. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $406.11 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $391.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $357.75. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $247.84 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $196.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.